Enoteca Italiana is a charming Italian restaurant hidden in a small alley of Soi Sukhumvit 27. The place is a house converted into restaurant: beautiful and spacious. It is another nice alternative when seeking a place to hang out with friends. The dining room is also decorated resembling Italian atmosphere. Along the wall, you can see range of Italian wine. One of the thing that worth mentioning here is the range of wine. Not many restaurant in Thailand represents good range of wine but here is one with Italian range. Nico, the owner, is a lovely and helpful guy. In the kitchen, Chef Stefano Merlo, who used to head the kitchen of Rossini's until mid 2013, leads the team for the second time after working for 2 years here between 2008 and 2010.

Enoteca Italiana Bangkok @ Sukhumvit, Bangkok

cosy dining room

another corner of cosy and friendly place

bread basket

I have to admit that it was a while back when I visited Enoteca during a wine dinner of Valdicava. All I could mention is the food was nice but not great. Here is the brief description:

White Truffle Cyber Egg (6/10): Tasted nice with aromatic white truffle scent with creamy structure. Creative but too difficult to eat honestly: need to pop the wrap with stick and then such the content inside. Personally, I am not really a fan of those molecular or fancy cuisine.Pigeon Pate, Vin Santo Gelatine and Flowers (5/10): Pate was nice with senses of flower. But smoother touch would be better. In addition, vin santo gelatine needed to be more flavourful to balance the pate.Spaghetti with Saffron and Bone Marrow (6/10): Nice creamy touch with al dente spaghetti in unique scent of saffron. But that was it. Not really sure what the missing piece of charm was.Risotto with Berries and Foie Gras (6/10): Delicious little plate of risotto. Just need more of the berries to balance foie gras.Grilled Fiorentina Steak (6/10): Flavour was there. But tenderness was not up to the level. Still some toughness there. Not sure whether it was intended to serve this way.

White Truffle Cyber Egg

Pigeon Pate, Vin Santo Gelatine and Flowers

Spaghetti with Saffron and Bone Marrow

Risotto with Berries and Foie Gras

Grilled Fiorentina Steak

Pecorino di Pienza DOP Cheese

As mentioned, the dinner was Valdicava wine dinner with Vincenzo Abbruzzese and daughter Sofia presented the wine themselves. The range of wine was impeccable: each one speaks of itself. Nice and traditional brunello with aromatic structure. The night began with Valdicava Rosso di Montalcino 2012 as the aperitif. Then Brunello di Montalcino and Madonna del Piano ranges were served pairing with the food in the following order:

Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino 2006Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino 2004Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino 1999Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino Madonna del Piano 2007Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino Madonna del Piano 2004Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino Madonna del Piano 1999To me, Brunello di Montalcino 2004 and Madonna del Piano 1999 rocked the night. I was fortunate to get a chance to try such wonderful range. Honestly, if you see these wines, do not hesitate but stock up. All were wonderful and each speaks of its character that resemble vintage and terrior.Overall, the night was wonderful. I have to admit that the wine outshone the food by far. The food range comparing to the price tag, I would say this is not so valuable. Thanks to the wine that makes it memorable.

Palate: Medium-full bodied with so fine texture, thanks to well integrated tannins. Particular splendid mouth-feel with great depth of flavour. Ripe cassis, sage, and spices. Persistent and elegant.

Such a precious bottle. It would be extremely difficult to keep hands off the cork of any remaining bottles once you have experienced it. Striking perfume caught on the nose of everyone right at decanting. At this point, I was already stunned. Tannins have mellowed down nice leaving so fine and so smooth texture on the palate: seamless structure. Don't feel like having those big and bold Napa Bordeaux blend at all but elegant Bordeaux instead. Such finesse, it possesses. Drink now if you have them in cellar whilst it still shows the sexiness that would blow off your mind. This piece of art rocks. Cheers!!!!!!

Just recently launched towards the end of 2014, New York Style Steak and Burger at Park 22 is among one of those burger joints spewing out in 2014. I have to say that I rather like this place personally. The decoration is friendly and comfy in USA city scape theme. There are around 10 spacious tables indoor and a few more outdoor which can be pleasant during winter evening. I believe this can be another good spot for hanging with friends.

The place is located in Soi Sukhumvit 22. First this came up to my mind when I had found out about this place was availability of parking space as Soi Sukhumvit 22 can be a hassle place for those who drive. However, there are some parking spaces, around 10, at Park 22 so you may be lucky on a good day. The range of menu is kept simply. Mainly it consists of burger and steak range with a few of non-beef choices for those who do not take beef. We only gave a go to burger this time but will return for steak later. As for pricing, it is not cheap nor expensive. I would say it is on average if you ask me about value-for-money.

New York Style Steak and Burger @ Park 22, Sukhumvit 22, Bangkok

NY bar scene

There are around 11 choices of burger and here are 5 of them. We had The Atomic, The Bacon Cheese, The Damn Yankee, the Brooklyn BBQ, and The Petite. All are beef based burger but just different kind of stuffing and sauce. Beef meat is homemade ground US beef (choose your own preference doneness). Bun is from Maison Jean Philippe bakery. Vegetable are fresh from the northern part of Thailand, I believe. Each burger is served with French fries. Nevertheless, you may ask for variation such as salad if you would like to go for a more healthy choice.

The Atomic: This is a more spicy range with filling of fried onion, lettuce, pickle, tomato, spicy sauce, and jalapeño ranch dressing. This is the one for tagging on your instagram with the tall looking with fancy fried onion (^><^).

The Petite: If you are not a big eater and fancy a classic cheese burger, here is the one for you. Basically, it is the junior version of The Big Boy which is the classic cheese burger.

Just fyi, we did order our beef in medium doneness and it was just right for us with juiciness and tenderness maintained. Perhaps only the burger bun, from Maison Jean Philippe, that made the whole thing a bit difficult to eat. The bun was thick and I guess you can imagine how troublesome it would be to have your mouth widely open for a bite. If you are thinking of taking your date out here, order steak and not burger. Otherwise, just use fork and knife to eat your burger which is probably not what you would like to do when enjoying a juicy piece of burger.

Stunning, it was. The first thing came up in my mind was how difficult it would be for me to keep my hand off the remaining bottles. It is drinking beautifully now with some air. But would be surely nice to see how it develops towards the end of this decade. Such an elegant and finesse bottle. A true masterpiece by Maria-Teresa Mascarello.

Here is another high end beef noodle joint, "Wuanood". Setting aside its taste, Wuanood has recently, end of 2014, been launched at Mahatun Plaza on Phloen Chit Road by siblings of Hongsakul family. The place is small, only a block of commercial building, and can accommodate around 10 tables only. To me, it is a kind of place for those who work around Mahatun Plaza to have lunch. But if you would like to travel all the way here to taste it, BTS will do just fine with Phloen Chit station situated right there. Driving will also do with many parking lots. By the way, this place only operates during lunch time.

Wuanood @ Mahatun Plaza

store front

tiny little place

Menu here is mainly beef noodle with some choices of side dish. You will get a piece of paper to tick your preference. In brief, you just choose your kind of beef, noodle, stewed / soup, bean sprouts or not, toppings, and etc. Surely it is not cheap: say THB150 on average per bowl of noodle comparing to THB50 on elsewhere but of course with air conditioning.

noodle menu

savoury and drink menu

Guava Juice - น้ำฝรั่ง (THB30)

We did try both stewed noodle and noodle soup. I would say they were enjoyable but not particularly one worth looking for. Each bowl was quite small in fact. Come on, THB120 per bowl a base price for Thai-French sirloin, it should be a larger portion (5/10 perhaps). A normal guy would need like 3 bowls to satisfy for a meal. Ok, at least it is better than Nuer Koo - ร้านเนื้อคู่ at Siam Paragon / Silom Complex. What really disappointed was Crab and Glass Noodle Spring Roll - ป่อเปี๊ยะปู (2/10). This was sure not crab and glass noodle spring rool, I would say it was "glass noodle" spring roll. I barely felt any taste of crab. Oh crab.

Anyway what I know at least is that whether or not you will like beef noodle here, indeed the owners of Hongsakul family are beautiful ones (O_o)". Try this place yourself to judge if you have time or pass by Mahatun Plaza.

Palate: Big and bold but great balance with lingering acidity. Soft and fresh on palate. Fruit forward with ripe tannins. Dark berries note with some bitter chocolate.

Simply powerful and dense but a harmonious and fine bottle from Chile. Pretty nice and accessible now. With nice steak, this would be a wonderful way to enjoy. Stay with it if power style (with a bit of oakiness of course) is what you are looking for.

It was during Autumn when we visited the village of Cogne in Valle d'Aosta. With no surprise, there was hardly any restaurant operated during the period. Just to mention that the high seasons for this area are Summer, when visitors enjoy warmer climate and nature, and Winter, when ski enthusiasts parade in. Nevertheless, we were fortunate enough to get recommended, by the owner of a small hotel where we were staying, a nice, cosy, and so much of our like brasserie that still in operation: La Brasserie du Bon Bec. The restaurant is a part of a famous hotel in the area, Hotel Bellevue. La Brasserie du Bon Bec is situated right in the middle of the town so you won't be missing surely. The dining hall is set to fame the Alpine traditional mountain setting. Staffs were friendly and worked efficiently. There were only a few of them working in a restaurant with around 15 tables. Honestly, food was nice and staffs were equally nice. We decided to stick with this place for dinner during our few days of passing by.

La Brasserie du Bon Bec @ Cogne, Valle d'Aosta

old fashion country interior but cosy

just another cosy corner

Let's mention a bit on the food. They are pretty much local cuisine. No those fancy things at all. But they were yummy. By the way, breads and rolls here were simply delicious. Pricing of each dish was as well attractive: no those ridiculous mark up even in such mountainous place.

Cheese Fondue, Honey, and Walnuts (8/10) and Cream of Potatoes with Fresh Aromatic Herbs and Sausage (7/10) are highly recommended for any cold day (most of the days here anyway). These warm soups were such a good kicking start for a meal. They were creamy and savoury. The cheese fondue, in particular, was splendid with well balance between sweetness of honey and cheesy notes. Walnuts also provided cracking texture to the overall picture.

bread and cutlery

Cheese Fondue, Honey, and Walnuts (EUR10)

Cream of Potatoes with Fresh Aromatic Herbs and Sausage (EUR8)

Next was Polenta with Cheese and Melted Butter (7/10). I promise I really love cheese and this classic polenta with cheese was so yummy and classic: so warm, so smooth, and so cheesy. Another polenta dish was Stewed Beef with Polenta (7/10). Classic stew that was not too thick with creamy polenta was so enjoyable. Lastly, it was Lillaz Trout Baked in a Foil (8/10). So simple but yet so much of satisfaction and joy. Juicy and sweet. Just nice. Lillaz is another little town in Valle d'Aosta and just a few kilometres from Cogne. So you sure guarantee the very best of local catch here.

Polenta with Cheese and Melted Butter (EUR8)

Stewed Beef with Polenta (EUR14)

Lillaz Trout Baked in a Foil (EUR14)

friendly staff boning off trout

During the visits, I did also get the chance to try local wines. I opted for pinot noir which I fond of. L'Atoueyo Pinot Noir2013 (87/100) and Maison Anselmet Pinot Noir Eleve en Fut de Chene 2011 (89/100) were the choices. Both were enjoyable with pinot fruit aroma. But Maison Anselmet possesses more structure and mild oak palate.Anyway, though we only tried a restaurant in Cogne, we could really say that we do like La Brasserie du Bon Bec and it is a place to go for in Cogne: reasonable price, delicious, and nice people. It won't disappoint you, I promise.